living in a small house, with a small kitchen, and not a whole lotta pantry space i try to keep our cooking “gadgets” to a minimum. one item i haven’t purchased yet: a milk foamer/steamer for coffee. this probably a bit stupid on my part, as plain old drip coffee and creamer doesn’t really seem to cut it in the mornings. i’ve been oh so spoiled by starbucks’ lattes and macchiatos and i usually find myself running out to grab a fix after just a few sips of coffee at home. unlike j, who can drink his coffee black, i need a whole bunch of flavor, milk, sprinkled spices, and foam or whipped cream in my cup. the more extra, the better.

this isn’t great for a couple reasons: 1) i spend an ungodly amount of money on coffee each week, 2) i don’t always have time to run out to the coffee shop and 3) i find that if you drink the coffee shop confections daily they start to lose their specialness. i thought it would be really awesome to find a suitable home substitute, and limit my coffee shop indulgences to just a couple per week.

and i think i’ve just about cracked it - thanks to stumbling upon a totally genius hack for foaming milk at home with just a mason jar, which is something i have in spades. while i realize you can get really into making lattes at home with special tools, this stands up pretty well with no special equipment neeeded.

| milk foam ingredients |2% milkmason jar with a lid

| method |

just pour a bit of milk into a small jar, and cap it. shake shake shake until doubled in volume (your milk will be all bubbly and foamy) then remove the lid and stick it in the microwave for 30 seconds on high. and you instantly have warm milk (not sure i would call it steamed, but it’s not chilly either) and more importantly - foam!!

pour a small amount of hot coffee into your mug. dissolve your desired amount of caramel sauce by stirring it into the hot coffee. add additional coffee and warm milk from the foam jar (keep the foam from spilling out of the jar by holding it back with spoon, allowing the milk in the bottom of the jar to run out into your cup.)

this is totally optional, but at this point you can add a little caramel coffee cream as well if you want your latte to be extra-rich. stir the contents of your mug together and taste. add more coffee/caramel/cream as needed until you reach your desired ratio of perfect latte-ess. when all tastes great, spoon your foamed milk over top and finish with a sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.